Convertible refreshment bar and partitioning screen



Dec. 28, 1948. D'. DOGGETT ET AL 2,457,536

' CONVERTIBLE REFRESHMENT BAR AND PARTITIONING SCREEN Filed Sept. 6,1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 A INVENTORS WALLACE SCH/ER BY DAV/D L. DOGGETT A7" TORNEVS 1948- D. L. DOGGETT ETAL 2,457,536

CONVERTIBLE REFRESHMENT BAR AND PARTITIONING SCREEN Filed Sept. 6, 1945a Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS WALLACE SCH/ER y DAV/D LDOGGETT A T TORNEVSDec. 28, 1948. D. DOGGETT ET AL 5 CONVERTIBLE REFRESHMENT BAR ANDPARTITIONING SCREEN Filed Sept. 6, 1945- 5 She'ets-Sheet 3 INVENTORSWALLACE SCH/ER 0A V/D L. DOGGETT A T TORNEVS Patented Dec. 28, 1948Davin L.-. Do gett; Mount Kis'co'; and Wallace Schie'n, Forest Hills; N.Y.,- assignors to-'Hofstatters Sons; 1110.; Long corporation of New YorkIsland City, N.- Y.-, a

Application- September 6, 1945'; Serial No. 614L760 9-Glai mst (01. 3121402) This inventionr'elates: to an article offurniture in the-former ac'onvertible' refreshmentbar and partitioning. screen.

The'prime' object of our" present invention'ce'nters' about theprovision of a novel article of furniture;- house use or for otherlocationswhere economy of space is a' factor,.which is readilyconvertible for useasa refreshment bar or counter for guestentertainment and which is similarly readily convertiblewhen" not usedas arefreshment bar into a- 1 decorative partitioning; screen A furtherprime object of the invention relates to the provision of a convertiblerefreshment bar and partitioning screen s'o de'signedand constr'uctedthat: when used= in: either the capacity of a refreshment bar orpartitioning screen, an ornamental and attractive article of furnitureisproduced whichisharmon'iza-ble with the setting of a-well decoratedsitting room or den."

An ancillary important object of the invention relates" to: the makingof a convertible refresh-' ment bar and partitioning screen of thenature referred'to-in which the refreshment bar is constructed tonormally serve as a means for holding and storing liquor bottles;drinking glasses and: other paraphernalia employed for refreshment" baruse.

To -the'accomplishment' of the foregoing objects andsuch' other: objectsas -mayhereinafter appear; our" invention is directed to theconvertible. refreshment bar and partitioning screen as sought to bedefined in theappended claimsespecially designed for apartmentpartsbeing shown in condition with the refreshment bar ope'n'for use;.

Fig; 4isa" rear elevational view thereof with the" parts shown" in thecondition depicted in Fig; 3';

Fig; 5" is a view thereof taken' in cross-section in theplane'of'theline 5--5o'f"Fig.' showing the partsiin'onea'diusted'positlon;

Fig. 6"-is a view correspondingitothatshownin 2 Fig. 5, with-the part'sshown in another adjusted position; and

Fig. 7' is a fragmentary view takenin transverse section and showingsome of the" parts in greater detail.

Referring; now more in detail to the drawings and having reference firstto Figs; 1 to 3 thereof, the novel article of furniture or the presentin-' vention comprises a structure which may be made to serve'and appearas a-decorative partitioning! screen generally'designated as S and bestshown-in Fig; 2 of'the drawings, and which may be readily converted toserveas a refreshment bar generally designated as B and best shown in 3of thedr'awingss When employed as a" partitioning screen; the structurein elevational front view assumes the appearance of the customaryzig-zag type of partitioning screens nor mally -used as an article'offurniture in the home, iszdepictedw inFig; 2 of the drawings. Ele---ments of this partitioning screen, such, for example, as the two insidepanels thereof, are

readilymanipulable inthe manner illustrated by the arrowed lin'esin Fig.1 of the drawings .to

convert the structure to the attractive refreshment serving bar' andcounter as shown in Fig. 3."

This convertible refreshment bar and partitioning screen comprisesstructurally a standgenerally designated-as H3 provided with arefreshment serving station generally designated !2', said standbeingconstructed at its frontside with two stationary outside panel membersl4" and-IG- and two movable inside panel members- IB and 2-0, themovable inside panel-members beingmovable in the'arcs indicated by thedotted arrowed lines 22 and 24 (see'Fig-L) from a closed position whenthey are in front of the serving station l2" andshown-in full lines inFigs. 1 and 2 of the'drawings to an open position when they are arranged"to' overlie-thestationary or fixedpanels- [4 and was shown in fulllines in Fig. 3 of the drawings and as indicated in thedot-dash lines-shown in Fig.1 of the drawings. The-stationary and movable panelmembers l4,v l6, [8 and 20' may be suitably decoratedas indicated at- 26on their screen exposing faces so as to produce the full' simulation of=a highly decorative and ornamental partitioning screen. The .panels l8and 2llare hinged as-at-28, 28to the outside' panel members 14 and lfiwith the usual formof' double-acting hinges (see particularly Fig. 7-)employed in partitioningscreens to permit the swinging of the panelsove'rthe wide arcs indicated. V v

The refreshment bar" stand comprisespin the" preferred constructiondepicted in the drawings, two laterally spaced upright structures 30and, 32 which are bridged by a structure defining the serving station l2arranged medially of the refreshment bar, the stationary panel l4forming the front of the upright structure 30 of the stand and thestationary "panel l6 forming the front of the upright structure 32 ofthe stand. The serving station l2 comprises the assembly of a back drop34 and a movable shelf 36, the shelf 36 being movable from an uprightinoperativeE-position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings toa'horizontal dropped operative position shown parti.u-.

larly in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings so asto define a full servingcounter. It Will-be notedthat the structure defining the serving stationl2 partially closes the space between the laterally spaced uprightstructures 3!] and 32, the noncovered part of that space providingaccess to the station l2.

The laterally spaced upright structures- 30 and 32, for purposes ofproducing an attractive design and also for the purpose of disposing thestationary front panels [4 and Hi into the angular positions required toeffect the zig-zag screen arrangement, may be constructed in .the form.of housings Whichare triangularly shaped in crosssection, the uprighthousing 30 being, therefore,

constructed to provide three side walls a, b and,

c and the upright housing 32 being constructed to similarly provide thecorresponding side walls a', b and c. To complete this structure, thehousing 30 may be provided with the top wall 'd'and bottom wall 6 andthe housing structure 32 may be, provided with the .top wall d and acorresponding bottom wall. These housings are also preferably designedand constructed to provide holding and storage compartments for liquorbottles, drinking glassesand similar paraphernalia, andifor this purposetheuprig'ht housings 30 and 32 are each provided with shelving 38,38

asshown particularly in Figs. 3.to 6 of the drawings. The walls and c ofthe upright housing structures and 32 are formed with the openings 40,40 which opposingly face the'serving station l2, whereby "the storagecompartments in the upper parts of the upright housings are readilyaccessible to the bartender standing behind. the

serving station l2, as will be best seen by viewing Figs. 3 and'4 of thedrawings.- If desired, the

rear wall it of the upright 32 may be provided with an opening 42 andthe rear wall a of the up right 30 may be provided with an opening 44which maybe closed by a door 4b for access to the storage compartmentsformed in the bottom of these upright structures.

The back drop of the serving station I Zmay also, if desired, beprovided with rearwardly extended shelving '48, 48 (see particularlyFigs. 4 to 6) for the holding or storing of refreshment paraphernalia.The counter shelf 2-56 for its movement between the vertical inoperativeand the horizontal operative positions described is preferably hinged asat .50 to the wallcof the upright of the convertible refreshment bar andpartition ing screen may be made of sheeted wood metal or compositionboard or material. These may be elf at if 70 4 suitably buttressed orreinforced by struts or equivalent members as is common in the art offurniture manufacture, Fig. 7 of the drawings indicating the manner inwhich such details may be 5 provided. Thus, for example, the walls a andb of the upright structure 30 may be suitably reinforced by a strut suchas 54 formed inthe upper partof the structure, and the walls I) and 0may be similarly reinforced at the lower part of the 0 structure by astrut such as 56;. I

The structure and operation of the convertible refreshment bar' andpartitioning screen of our present invention and the many advantages inits use will now in the main be fully apparent by the '15 above-detaileddescription thereof. This article of furniture may normally serve thepurpose of the decorative partitioning screen depicted in Fig. 2 of thedrawings, used as part of the setting of a well furnished sitting roomor den. On the 20 occasion of the entertaining of guests, the insidepanels '18 and'20 of the screen structure are moved in the arcsindicated by the arrowed lines 22 and 24 (Fig. 1) outwardly-and into aposition overlying the stationary panels M and i6 ofthe 5 scieenstructure, thus exposing and opening-the refreshment bar foruse. Thecounter shelf 36 is thereuponmoved tothe dropped serving position shownin Figs. 3 and 4. With the storage'comfor instant refreshment 'useL Avery serviceable as well as anattractive refreshment bar is pre sentedas depicted in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

35 When its use as :a'bar is completed, the drop shelf 36 is'llfted toits inoperative position (Figs. land 1 5) and the movable panel membersIt; and mare,"

swung back inwardly to their closed position in front of the servingstation, thus concealing and .lo' closing the refreshment bar andconvertingthis structure back to the decorative screen of Fig. 2 of thedrawings. The structure may be rendered readily-movable over-the floorof the sitting room described 'above embodies one of the" preferredforms of the described invention. It will be ap-' parentcthat manychangesmay be made in; the

theconvertiblerefreshment bar and partitioning invention defined in t hefollowing claims. We claim:

refreshment bar and partitioning screen com prising, a stand defining arefreshment bar, said stand comprising two laterally spaced up'rightstructures and a medially ,arranged structure 60 partially closing thespace between said upright structures and defining a refreshment servingj station, bridging said upright structures, said stand beingconstructed at its front side With stationary and movable panel members,the stationary panel .members forming the fronts of said uprightstructures and a movable panel member being disposable infront of saidserving station, said movable panel'member bein moving arranged todefine a partitioning screen.

partments containing or being filled with bottles 30 0f liquor, sodasand the like'and with drinking glasses, the refreshment bar is thusconverted construction and arrangement of the parts of-' screen withoutdeparting from' the spirit of the?" 1. ALs an article of furniture, aconvertible able from in front of said station to an open position toexpose and open the refreshment bar and being movable to closed positionin front of said stationto conceal and close the refreshment bar,,thesaid front panel members when the mQVable y, panel member is moved toits closed position b'e 2. As as article of furniture, a convertiblerefreshment bar and partitioning screen comprising, a stand defining arefreshment bar, said stand comprising two laterally spaced uprightstructures and a medially arranged structure partially closing the spacebetween said upright structures and defining a refreshment servingstation bridging said upright structures, said stand being constructedat its front side with two stationary outside panel members and twomovable inside panel members hinged to the outside panel members, thestationary panel members forming the fronts of said upright structuresand the movable panel members being disposable in a position in front ofsaid serving station, the movable inside panel members being swingableoutwardly from said position to open position to expose and open therefreshment bar and being swingable inwardly to closed position in frontof said station to conceal and close the refreshment bar, the said frontpanel members when the movable panel members are swung to their closedposition being disposed in zig-zag relation and defining a partitioningscreen.

3. The convertible refreshment bar and partitioning screen of claim 1 inwhich each of the two laterally spaced upright structures comprises ahousing provided with storage compartments.

4. The convertible refreshment bar and partitioning screen of claim 1 inwhich each of the two laterally spaced upright structures comprises ahousing triangularly shaped in cross-section provided with storagecompartments, some of the storage compartments having openings facingthe serving station.

5. The convertible refreshment bar and partitioning screen of claim 2 inwhich each of the two laterally spaced upright structures comprises ahousing triangularly shaped in cross-section provided with storagecompartments, some of the storage campartments having openings facingthe serving station,

6. The convertible refreshment bar and partitioning screen of claim 2 inwhich the serving station includes a back drop and a counter shelf, thecounter shelf being movable between vertical inoperative and horizontaloperative positions, the movable panel members being movable to theclosed position when the shelf is moved to its inoperative position,

'7. The convertible refreshment bar and partitioning screen of claim 2in which each of the two laterally spaced upright structures comprises ahousing triangularly shaped in cross-section provided with storagecompartments, some of the storage compartments having openings facingthe serving station and in which the serving station includes a backdrop and a counter shelf, the counter shelf being movable betweenvertical inoperative and horizontal operative positions,

the movable panel members being movable to the closed position when theshelf is moved to its inoperative position.

8. As an article of furniture, a convertible refreshment bar andpartitioning screen comprising a stand provided with a structuredefining a refreshment serving station, said stand being constructed atits front side with stationary outside panel members and movable insidepanel members, the movable inside panel members being movable to openposition to expose said serving station and being movable to closedposition to conceal said serving station, the said front panel memberswhen the movable panel members are moved to their closed position beingarranged to define a partitioning screen, said serving station includinga backdrop and a counter shelf, the counter shelf being movable betweenvertical inoperative and horizontal operative positions, the movablepanel members being movable to closed position when the shelf is movedto its inoperative position.

9. As an article of furniture, a convertible refreshment bar andpartitioning screen comprising a stand provided with a structuredefining a refreshment serving station, said stand being constructed atits front side with two stationary outside panel members and two movableinside panel members hinged to the outside panel members, the movableinside panel members being swingable to open position in overlyingrelation to the stationary outside panel members to expose said servingstation and being swingable to closed inside position to conceal andclose said serving station, the said front panel members when themovable panel members are swung to their closed position being disposedin zig-zag relation and defining a partitioning screen, the servingstation including a backdrop and a counter shelf, the counter shelfbeing movable between vertical inoperative and horizontal operativepositions, the movable panel members being movable to closed positionwhen the shelf is moved to its inoperative position.

DAVID L. DOGGETT. WALLACE SCHIER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,065,272 Price June 17, 19131,166,572 Bardwell Jan. 4, 1916 1,840,033 Hampton Jan. 5, 1932 1,944,405Copeland Jan. 23, 1934 1,994,857 Krause Mar. 19, 1935

